CARDS supremo Chris Ingram has leapt to the defence of manager Glenn Cockerill.

And, speaking candidly on local radio last weekend, the Kingfield owner/chairman also issued a bleak warning about the future if the club fails to make progress on and off the pitch.

Wealthy long-time fan Ingram rescued the Conference club from certain extinction by pumping in part of his personal fortune in December 2001.

And, as the major shareholder, he has been baling Woking out ever since, paying around £150,000 a year for his stake. But Ingram is determined that the Cards’ trading arm (Woking FC Ltd) – currently understood to be about £1.8m in the red, losing around £350,000 to July this year – must become self-financing.

Ground development plans are afoot to ensure they do just that but Ingram – who chaired the shareholders’ annual meeting on Wednesday – reckons it must be achieved within the next three years, when it is thought his own involvement may take a pace back.

When asked by BBC Southern Counties reporter Adrian Harms of the scenario were he to withdraw his cash, Ingram admitted: “The club would probably have to go into administration inside a week and that’s why I’m working very hard to find sustainable revenue streams. The biggest challenge is giving us a viable future with or without me.”

The chairman accepted that crowd figures were down and admitted the style of play could be blamed. But he also stressed that attendances everywhere had shown a decline and is concerned that football may soon reach a saturation point.

Ingram told the Advertiser: “The style of play is a factor but gates in general are down, right from the Premiership. Aldershot’s are well down, even though they are in the top five in the Conference.”

He insisted he was still right behind Cockerill, adding: “I’m a very long-standing fan and used to the ball being on the ground. If Woking play route one and gets results I think no one would mind but if we play unattractive football and don’t get results they will complain.

“We can do a lot better and getting in the play-offs should be a realistic target.”

And does he still believe his under-fire manager is the right man for the job?

“Yes, clearly I do,” he said. “What people don’t see is that the infrastructure at the club is immeasurably better.”

Meanwhile, Cockerill is preparing his team for tomorrow’s Conference clash with 19th-placed York City, who have just made Viv Busby manager after sacking Chris Brass.

Centre-half Jon Boardman is definitely out as he serves a one-match ban following his red card in the FA Cup at Notts County last Saturday.

With Steve Ferguson and Chris Sharpling likely to be declared fit, Woking’s only doubt is left-back Liam Cockerill.

The manager’s accident-prone son, out since September with an ankle problem, was the unlucky victim of another training ground incident this week. Cockerill jnr hurt his wrist after colliding with a barrier after being tackled by Karl Murray.

Cockerill revealed he had recently made inquiries about strikers Steve Claridge and Kirk Jackson – a victim of the recent Hornchurch fallout – but failed to land either because of money.

The Cards boss is also monitoring former Man United midfielder Danny Byrne plus a Portuguese and French player. All three are likely to get a run out in the reserves against Aldershot next week.